Jatiya Oikya Front leader and Gono Forum President Dr Kamal Hossain has expressed optimism that the upcoming 11th general polls will be held in a free and fair manner, as US-based NGO National Democratic Institute (NDI) is set observe the election proceedings.
The Oikya Front leader made the comment at a meeting between Jatiya Oikya Front and NDI to discuss the overall election atmosphere, held at a hotel in Dhaka on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Dr Kamal said that the people of Bangladesh are very eager and hopeful about the upcoming election, which is why the election commission must demonstrate complete neutrality and ensure a free and fair election.
He also expressed optimism about the NDI observing the election, as the NGO’s experience would help ensure that the election process is conducted according to the electoral code of conduct.
Dr Kamal also said that he doubts the Election Commission’s credibility, and alleged that the commission is loyal to the ruling party as they did not acknowledge Oikya Front’s demand to defer the election by a month.
“Instead of acknowledging our demands and deferring the election by a month, the commission only delayed the polls by a week in compliance with the ruling party,” he said.
A five-member NDI delegation led by the organization’s Senior Advisor (Asia) Jacqueline Corcoran attended the meeting. Dr Reza Kibria, son of slain finance minister and Awami League leader Shah AMS Kibria, was also present at the meeting.
NDI wants to know more about EC's move for using EVMs
NDI wanted to know more about the commission's move to use electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the upcoming election.
A meeting was held between NDI and Election Commission at the secretariat in Dhaka on Tuesday evening.
An Election Commission official said the meeting was held for 30 minutes. "The NDI delegation wanted to know about the roles of foreign observers. They also asked why the Election Commission wanted to use EVMs for the election."
A seven member NDI delegation led by Maeve Whelan-Wuest, NID program officer for Asia, met the Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda and his colleagues.
Other NDI delegates include Sandra Pepera, director for Gender, Women and Democracy, Neil Nevitte, senior elections advisor, and Ivan Doherty,senior associate to director of Political Party Programs.
Election Commissioner Mahbub Talukder, Rafiqul Islam and Brig Gen (retd) Shahadat Hossain Chowdhury were present at the meeting.
NDI is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that works with partners in developing countries, to increase the effectiveness of democratic institutions.
